Bittersweet
by enits3
Summary: One shot. Post 04.03. Alternative ending, sort of... ;) What happens when Andy goes to the Penny after the parking lot scene? What happens if Sam's there with his new girlfriend? And what happens when an unexpected friend coincidently finds Andy at the bar? Hints of Sam and Andy.


**AN: It's been a while since I felt inspired to write, but this wouldn't leave me alone so I just had to get it down on paper. Please excuse any grammar mistakes, I didn't have the patience to find a BETA and it's been a long time since I've written anything in english. As always, I'll be very happy if you leave me with your thoughts of this little scrabble :) **

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After Andy walked away from Sam in the parking lot after shift, she decided that she didn't want to go home and eat her sorrows away in ice cream. She already knows the other rookies aren't at there, so she walks with her jaw set to the Penny. She wasn't prepared for the sight that meets her though, and it makes her linger by the door, until she sees Sam's eyebrows rise curiously, that's when she decides to go through with her original plan. She raises her chin and looks away from that intense gaze of his and walks up to the bar.

It irks her; everything has changed while she was gone. Sam's got a new girlfriend, the station got a new officer they all love and speaks so highly of, Traci's still the same, but she's also different. She looks tired, thinner and you can still see the grief in her eyes. Andy knows they should have a girls night and talk it out, she knows there's some tension between them and she knows exactly why it's there. She left while her best friend was grieving the loss of her fiancée.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asks politely. Andy sighs quietly to herself. Even the damn bartender is new. Things like these make her regret that she left, and that's something she really doesn't want to do. She grew as a person while she was working undercover, learned new sides about herself she didn't know was there, got more experience as a cop and in life in general. She doesn't regret her decision, but she does admit that she could have left differently. But she was hurt and she was angry and confused and it made her impulses do the decision for her.

"I'll have a beer," she answers, and before the bartender manages to go grab it for her she calls out; "no, actually, I'll have a glass of scotch". The bartender raises his eyebrows, as if in surprise, but then he nods and makes his way over to fix her drink.

Andy looks over her shoulder sees Sam sitting by a table with Marlo, who she could have sworn she overheard that she was going straight home to bed. Her eyes stray to Sam's arm, which is resting on the back of Marlo's chair. She can't help the glare she sends their way, but it really makes her angry that he all of a sudden is this perfect boyfriend. But the feeling that's worse is that she feels like she wasn't good enough, like she didn't deserve the side of him that he's showing Marlo. She drags her eyes away when Sam's eyes meet hers again, and she turns around to face the bartender.

"Rough day, huh?" he asks calmly. Another thing that makes her angry? The reaction she gives the poor bartender that's only intention is to probably be nice. She grabs the glass and swallows it in one big sip. "Again," she hisses, as she passes the glass back to him. As she watches him sigh and walk away to get her another she feels _him_ before she sees him. There's another thing to add on the list that upsets her. She knows that he's made such on impact on her, scarred his name deep enough in her heart so it can't be erased, that she'll never be able to forget the smell of him. Before, it used to comfort her, now it reminds her of the bad shit that went down between them. What she did wrong in their relationship.

"Hey," he almost whispers. "You okay?"

She can't help it, she really can't. She lets out a laugh, that she hopes doesn't come out as sarcastic as she think it does. "Yup. Super," she almost sings. She doesn't turn to look at him, she calmly accept her second drink from the bartender.

"Andy…" he prompts again.

She looks over her shoulder at him, her eyes narrowed as she stares at him. "What do you want, Swarek?" she growls, and it causes him to put his hands up as if he spooked her. He looks at her for a few seconds more, his mouth agape, as if he wanted to say something more. But then he puts his hands in his pockets, swallows loudly and walks away backwards before he turns his back to her.

She's on her fourth drink when Luke appears out of nowhere, he takes the seat next to her and orders a beer. "You look beat," he says as he studies her profile. Andy shrugs in response, and continue to sip on her drink. "Tough coming back?" he asks as he looks over his shoulder, clearly insinuating that he was meaning Sam. "A lot of stuff has changed since you left…." He drawls out, looking back at her.

Andy turns to look at him, chewing on her lip and asks a question she really doesn't want to ask. But the liquid courage sure has helped loosen up her tongue. "Am I not good enough?"

Luke closes his eyes for a few seconds before he meets her eyes again. "Andy, don't do this to yourself. It's his loss. And he knows it."

"No, I mean. We didn't work, but back then I didn't consider it was me. But then Sam and I went down the drain, and it got me thinking, you know? Obviously it must be something wrong with me; I have commitment issues or something. Or maybe I'm too desperate after commitment that I scared him away? Ugh, I don't even know." Andy cringes a little by how pathetic she actually sounds, so she swallows down the rest of her drink in hopes of drowning the feeling.

Luke nudges her knee with his and looks at her with furrowed brows. "_I _was the one who ruined our relationship, Andy. Not you." He takes a breath and looks quickly over at Sam and Marlo before he continues, "I'm not sure why you and Sam didn't work out, but one thing I do know? You're great, Andy. And he knows that. Maybe he doesn't act like that right now, maybe he's in denial or hurt, but he _knows, _Andy."

After a few minutes of awkward silence between them, them both looking into each other's eyes Luke says; "definitely not you," with a soft smile.

She watches him as he takes a large sip of his beer. "I can't fault you for us. Yeah, you shouldn't have cheated on me, but I was…." She smiles sadly and looks over at Sam.

"Yeah…" Luke says hoarsely, like he could read her mind. He clears his throat and pulls some money to cover both of their tab. "Come on, let me drive you home."

Andy lets out a huff, but nods her head. "Yeah, it was a stupid idea anyway." She gets up from the stool and stand next to Luke, chewing angrily on her lip to prevent the threating tears she feels in her eyes. Luke surprises her by putting his arm around her shoulders, but what surprises her more is that she leans into his body, feeling oddly safe and comforted by him.

Luke walks them out of the Penny, and Andy throws one last look over at Sam and Marlo. They're both looking at them, and Andy knows it's not fair, especially not to Luke, but she snuggles closer to him and let him walk her out.

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"They used to be a pair, didn't they?" Marlo asks curiously, studying Sam as she asks, his eyes on the door that closed behind Andy and Luke a second ago. Marlo touches his hand briefly, gaining his focus again.

"Huh?" he shakes his head and forces a smile, "yeah, before we…" he stops himself and laughs. "Yes. Yes, they were."

"Hmmm," Marlo says as she takes a sip of her drink.

Sam tries to keep the smile on his face, but he knows it's slowly fading away. The look of them was just….odd. Not something he ever expected to ever see again. In one way it comforts him, seeing her being able to forgive and forget what he did, and be friends. It gives him hope. And he feels like a real jerk for even letting the thought cross his mind, but he simply can't help it. But it irks him too, because it looked like they were more than just friends when they left.

* * *

They're standing outside of the Penny, next to Luke's car. Andy feels a little fuzzy, she knows she drank to many strong drinks on an empty stomach. She looks up at Luke as he retreats his arm from around her shoulder. Before she even knows what she's doing, she presses up on her toes and leans in for a kiss as she closes her eyes. Her lips doesn't meet what she was aiming at, instead they meet his scruffy cheek.

"Andy," Luke says sternly and takes a hold of her shoulders. He takes a step back and looks down at her, watching the humiliation on her face.

"Jesus. I'm sorry," she whispers, letting out an angry huff.

"Andy, you're hurt. And you're angry. I get it, okay? But I don't want to be that guy for you." He tells her quietly. He watches as she shakes her head, he can see the aggravated line between her eyebrows. He gives her shoulders a light shake before he speaks again. "I _know_ you." Andy lets out a long sigh before she finally nods her agreement. "Besides…. Sam's already been jealous of me before when it comes to you."

She laughs softly when she sees the wink in his eyes as he says it. "Yeah, I guess you're right…." She places her hand over his heart as she looks up at him. "But mostly _you _don't deserve this childish treatment from me. You're a good guy, Luke," she says sincerely. "We were just not right for each other."

Luke smiles sadly as he nods. "I know I've already said this, but I am sorry for all of that. And for whatever it's worth, I still care about you."

"I know," she almost whispers as she looks longingly back at the door. "I still care about you too."

Luke opens the passenger door to his car, leans his arm casually on it. "We'll be all right." This time, Andy presses her lips exactly to the place she meant for it to be. Softly on his cheek.

"We will."

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Thanks for reading! :)


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